Funding cut could spell end for Parramatta District Rugby League Club

"The Parramatta Leagues Club and Parramatta National Rugby League have decided to withhold direct funding to the PDRL until all our concerns have been addressed": Parramatta chairman Steve Sharp.

The Parramatta Leagues Club has resolved to cease funding the Parramatta District Rugby League Club in what may spell the end for the latter entity.

The PDRL, the body responsible for overseeing the development of talent in the rich Parramatta nursery, could cease to exist following allegations of a 44 per cent rise in "unexplained" expenditure over the past two years. It's understood the PLC recently demanded about $175,000 provided to the body be returned for alleged overspending.

PDRL members were set to go to the polls on Monday for board elections, at which former Parramatta CEO Denis Fitzgerald was to be a shock candidate. However, those polls were initially postponed and may now not go ahead at all following the latest dramas. It continues a bitter battle for control of the blue and golds which began when Fitzgerald was ousted, after three decades in charge, as the 'Emperor' of Parramatta.

In a letter to members, obtained by Fairfax Media, Eels chairman Steve Sharp outlined the reasons for the PLC pulling its funding.

"The Parramatta Leagues Club (PLC), as the main financial contributor to PDRL, has made multiple requests to the PDRL Board to resolve governance and financial concerns over the past 12 months," Sharp wrote. "These concerns have been heightened by the correspondence of the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA). Three current Directors of the PDRL, who were previously on the PLC Board, have been asked to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against them by ILGA on the basis of this complaint. These issues plus the recent postponement of the 2014 PDRL AGM and Board Election has left the Eels Board and management with no choice but to take action to protect the interests of the Club and its members. As a result, the Parramatta Leagues Club and Parramatta National Rugby League have decided to withhold direct funding to the PDRL until all our concerns have been addressed."

PDRL chairman Roy Spagnolo denied the body had overspent. "As far as I'm concerned there has been no overspending," Spagnolo said. "I've asked them to explain what the overspending is and to date I have had no reply. There is a scheduled board meeting on Monday at which these items will be discussed. Directors have duties to discharge and we will do that."

Sharp promised that junior football in the area wouldn't suffer as a result. "Rest assured that funding of junior football; staff and community related services currently administered by the PDRL will continue under alternative arrangements that have already been identified," he wrote. "The Board has not taken this decision lightly. The Parramatta Eels are in one of the most competitive sporting markets in the world. As an organisation we simply cannot allow individuals to damage our brand and create instability. Only strong and definitive action can finally resolve this ongoing and unwelcome distraction, which impedes the efforts of everyone else in the club, who are working tirelessly to making the Eels great again. The Members and supporters of the Eels deserve better and I am determined to push the club forward into a new era of stability and good governance."

In a separate letter to members from the PLC, members were told the club faced the prospect of a fine of at least $275,000 in relation to the conduct of the previous management. The current administration said it is committed to constitutional reform and that Joy Cusack, Chris Jurd and Andrew Cordwell had volunteered to investigate appropriate action.